#i will propaganda at y'all all day LONG about this book

[kanerallels]

oooooooOOOOOooooooOoooh trick or treat!

*takes your hands* read this book. Please

Also have this:

The ballroom was crowded, filled with hundreds of partygoers, all clad in glittering costumes and fantastic masks. But Kanan only had eyes for one woman.

Closing the distance between them, he adjusted his mask, then stepped up behind her. She tensed a little, and he knew she sensed him behind her. "Fancy meeting you here, milady," he murmured.

Letting out an irritated huff, Hera muttered, "Will you stop messing around? We're trying to find a killer in a room full of rich sycophants."

"I'm as focused as can be..." Kanan trailed off as she turned to face him. Instead of her usual musketeer's gear, she wore a deep orange gown, the skirt trimmed with fluttering panels of orange and red. Her pendant sleeves were embroidered in gold thread like feathers, and her mask was gold and red with fiery patterns etched across it.

Okay, he thought. Maybe I'm not that focused.

"What are you supposed to be?" She asked, taking in his simple black and red outfit.

Clearing his throat, Kanan managed to regain his voice. "Uh, Scarlet Pimpernel. You gotta read more old books, Captain Hera. You're a phoenix?"

She smiled, and it set his heart aflame. "How'd you guess?"

[crispyanonart]

Back on my SDV propaganda: I need y'all to hear me out about Gunther.

(dissertation below // Ginger Island spoilers?)

I feel like he's pretty much forgotten most of the time but he has so much potential and it's the one character that I would love to see becoming romanceable. He manages the library and the museum! He's into literature and archeology! Hello?? Long haired, bearded, bespectacled, curated vintage wearing, academic, classy af man??

Some personality headcanons: Gunther is hardworking and responsible (took on the museum and takes care of ancient books and artifacts all by himself, which is no joke), obviously not very extroverted or social, incredibly private and aloof but always kind, soft spoken, gentlemanly to the point of being a little old fashioned. He's very nostalgic and also a bit of a hopeless dreamer - something that he only lets slip once you get to know him better.

Also his story could be really interesting because what if he's related to Professor Snail?? His son, for example (this is out of pocket but they kinda look alike...from afar lol). Maybe Snail raised him surrounded by books and archeological collections, thought him all he knew, maybe little Gunther really looked up to him. But the professor made knowledge his biggest life mission, and kept traveling to different sites, staying gone for more and more time, until the day he didn't make it back home at all. That could be why older Gunther decided to come to Pelican Town and take on the hopeless empty museum, following his father's footsteps. Plus we get a wholesome reunion once Snail is freed from the Ginger Island cave and they can meet again 🥹

(Bonus regarding in-game ships - HE NEEDS TO DATE PENNY, PENNY NEEDS TO DATE HIM. please. She deserves someone reliable and gentle that buys her books, come on. He would secretively gaze at her while she teaches the kids and feel very guilty about it, ignoring the fact that she got a massive crush on him since the day he arrived in Pelican Town 🥺 AUGHH they would be such a cute couple)

[starleska]

Omg I've been wanting to ask you if you've seen Heretic! I became obsessed as soon as I saw it, recommending it to all my friends like a missionary 😅 I've seen it twice and it gives you so much to think about; the three main performances are brilliant, the story is unpredictable and the psychological horror is so well done! Sister Paxton is also one of my new favourite characters from anything; I just think she's wonderful. I have so many thoughts I should probably make my own post b/c I could go on and on 😅

On a more superficial note, I must ask... Do you have a crush on Mr Reed? (Should I be embarrassed to admit that it's the first time I've ever found Hugh Grant hot, after a lifetime of having no opinion on him and barely registering his presence in films? I feel like I've finally awoken)

hell YEAHHHH all the love for Heretic, i was completely blown away!!!! what a masterpiece of a movie, holy shit - i couldn't agree with you more. Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher AND Chloe East all gave such tremendous performances - those first thirty minutes were some of the most tense and uncomfortable exchanges i've ever seen!!! so tightly written and had as many twists and turns as Mr Reed's fortress-like home...you keep on recommending this movie to everyone, i certainly will be too 🙈💖 BEFORE I GO INTO SPOILERS AND HEAVY RELIGIOUS/ATHEISTIC/PERSONAL DISCUSSION UNDER THE CUT: although i am not presently blorboing Mr Reed, my partner is down so astronomically bad i thought they were going to explode in the theatre 😂💖 i totally understand where y'all are coming from, and if spreading the 'gorgeous old man Hugh Grant appeals to your religious trauma and daddy kinks at the same time' propaganda, then so be it!!! here, hot grandpa be upon ye!! (come back to me in 3-5 business days, maybe my opinion will have evolved 😉)

so for context: when i was a child, like. ages 7-14, i was a militant atheist. i was raised in a very lax Christian household, but i fell down the rabbit hole of Richard Dawkins-esque 'reasonable' takes on religion via books and online circles that i equated with being intellectually superior. in retrospect i'm horrified by what a nasty, ignorant person it made me, and am very lucky to have had good religious figures in my life to gently ease me out of that (ironically) cult-like mentality. i'd argue that atheism, theism, theological debates and scientific ideas about the nature of reality constituted a special interest for me for a good chunk of my life...so this movie really scratched a long-forgotten itch 🙈🙈🙈 the thing about Heretic was how equal its messaging was. going in, you'd assume Mr Reed could've been some spurned apostate punishing missionaries for daring to have unshaken, unproven faith. but instead, we see something else: Mr Reed, Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton battling and even collaborating in trying to discover the truth of their respective (including lack of) faiths. that final scene with Sister Paxton hallucinating the butterfly rammed it home: does it really matter whether religion is correct or not? isn't it enough that faith provides comfort and meaning, even if we're wrong when we leave this mortal coil? i think as an ex-militant atheist i find Mr Reed horribly relatable. the way he made himself into this self-styled god by deeming 'control' to be the structure of all religion and using it to act on his own selfish desires reminds me so much of the figureheads of the atheism movement...i know that Heretic was in part inspired by Contact (1997), based on the book by Carl Sagan, which explores the implications for humanity if we made contact with extraterrestial life. the scientific language which people in the atheism community used to dress up intolerance and personal biases is just as flawed as the religion they were criticising. Mr Reed dazzles as an "intellectual", but he's no more informed than either of the Sisters. the way this movie skilfully portrays all parties as reasonable, informed, relatable people all trying to seek meaning is magnificent. it would have been so easy to make either side into a scapegoat: to make an anti-religious movie, or an anti-atheism movie, or even to turn around and call us all idiots for thinking about religion, but it doesn't. it leaves us with this off-kilter but honest message: we don't know, and that's okay, as long as it matters to you. that's why i agree with you on Sister Paxton being such an amazing character: regardless of Mr Reed's theories (or hypotheses 😉) he was unable to subjugate her. what a fucking champ

[divine-swag-summit]

Round 1 Summary

Round 1 is over, folks! Thanks so much for voting!

I'm not gonna lie, this tournament has been kind of a hassle to set up, but seeing your propaganda and your comments in the tags have made it so worth it! Seriously, y'all are hilarious.

I won't be listing the results of every matchup here, you can look at the round masterposts for that, but I will highlight some of the more notable matches.

Closest Matches

Behemo Barisol vs Crimson: 50/50 Somehow, we ended up having a perfect tie on Round 1-A of the Higher Bracket! That's only the first day of voting! Isn't that amazing? Behemo and Crimson will both move on to round 2 and will go against The Forest Spirit in a three-way poll!

The Smiling God vs Saiki Kusuo: 49.1/50.9 With just a .8% difference, Saiki K. managed to pull through! And on the Night Vale website no less! Great job Saiki! Your friends are probably very proud, though you probably don't enjoy all this attention,,,, sorry!

Mare Incubus vs Mianite: 50.4/49.6 Would ya look at that, Mare Incubus made it to round 2! I honestly didn't think he would get this far, considering the fact that he's the protagonist of a Norwegian book series that had never been translated to English. All that propaganda certainly paid off! Great job, Mare!

Jake English vs Mythra: 49.5/50.5 I honestly didn't think this match would be so close! I'm not sure who I thought the favorite would be, but I certainly didn't think they would almost tie! Sorry Jake, looks like your Hope powers weren't strong enough to get you the win. You still have a long way to go on your journey, young Page. As for Mythra, well, I don't know much about Xenoblade, so here's what my friend has to say about her win: "I see mythra won and therefore everyone is correct"

Biggest Sweeps

The Great God Om vs Feena: 86.8/13.2 I'm so sorry for this matchup, Feena. I genuinely underestimated how popular Discworld was! Feena will have another chance at victory in the losers bracket. Maybe this time, she'll have a fair shot at victory.

Rosalina vs Scaramouche: 81.1/18.9 As a Genshin fan, I think it's very funny that Scaramouche lost this hard. I'm glad we can all agree that he's truly a small, sad little wet noodle. Also, fun fact, I beat his boss fight first try. Get rekt you pathetic little man.

Shade Lord vs Ozpin: 80.8/19.2 Ya know what, I get it. Shade Lord does look pretty cool. Perhaps this was an unfair matchup. To be honest, I kind of thought RWBY's popularity would make this unfair for Shade Lord.

Dianite vs Alecto: 18.6/81.4 Yeah, I should've seen this coming. Once again, I didn't know how popular The Locked Tomb was when I made the bracket! I'm so sorry Dianite, but you still have a second chance in the losers bracket!

Anoia vs Xanu: 80.3/19.7 RIP Xanu, I'm not caught up on Fool's Gold so I don't know what your deal is, but you will be missed.

Four vs Alter: 18.8/81.2 I just wanna say, every single picture of Four I found was absolutely hilarious. I've never seen Battle for Dream Island, but I can tell that Four would probably be my favorite character if I did. Well, see you in the losers bracket, Four!

The Prophet's Personal Highlights

Bill Cipher vs Madoka Kaname: 35.8/64.2 Honestly, it was so funny to see everyone rooting for Madoka to beat Bill's ass in the tags. In other, unrelated news, Bill Cipher was found dead in Miami. Oops, I wonder who could've done that!

The Glow Cloud vs Q: 70.4/29.6 I honestly thought this would be closer, considering how popular Star Trek is. This matchup definitely surprised me. Also, my mom was very upset about Q's loss. She's very disappointed in you all.

Venti/Lord Barbatos vs Void Termina: 32.9/67.1 Alas, my poor blorbo! As poll runner, there was nothing I could do to sway opinions in Venti's favor, for I must remain impartial! It hurts to see my favorite silly little guy lose, but at least we still have the losers bracket.

The Harvest Goddess vs Hanyuu Furude: 51.2/48.8 Yet another blorbo, gone too soon! Hanyuu, you're the best in my heart. Unfortunately, this match was too close to allow Hanyuu to qualify for the losers bracket, so this was her only chance. Hanyuu, you will be missed.

Starclan vs Featherine Augustus Aurora: 67.4/32.6 I've never played Umineko, but I have some friends who have, and, well. We all voted for Starclan. To think, Starclan is so powerful that even Umineko fans voted against Featherine. Ah, well. She still has another shot with the losers bracket.

And that's it for the round recap!

So, what now? Well, on Thursday I will start the Losers Bracket! Tomorrow I'll release the bracket so you can get your propaganda ready.

[tessatechaitea]

Wonder Twins #7

I didn't realize the Wonder Twins were Gen X.

Oh yeah! Zan had just saved the world by stopping a plot that was going to save the world.

I just realized I hadn't scanned the cover yet and as I did, I noticed the Wonder Twins fist/star emblem marks a striking resemblance to a goat.se riff. Zan and Jayna get taken off of monitor duty at the Hall of Justice now that they've stopped the League of Annoyance. You'd think that doing a good job would get you a promotion but those of use who have always done spectacularly good jobs know better. While everybody else works down to the lowest common denominator (because who wants to do more work than the next guy?! A fool, that's who!), good workers just put on blinders and do the job they were hired for until the time they're being paid for is up. Sure, that sounds like I'm describing a sucker who's been completely manipulated by the man! But I'm also describing a person who fulfills their end of whatever bargain they've agreed to! So when I say Zan and Jayna wind up giving tours at the Hall of Justice because they were too good at catching criminals, you'll understand why I went into the previous digression. Maybe? I don't know. Have you seen what state the U.S. is in?! Why are you picking apart my writing style?! Mark Russell takes a few pages to shit all over hockey fans and now I hate Mark Russell with a burning passion. Even though I'd hardly call myself a hockey fan. I mean, I loved NHL '93 (unless it was '92 (or maybe '94?)) and I loved going to San Jose Sharks games when I was still living in the Bay Area (plus my friend worked equipment for the Sharks and would get us free tickets). But it's not like I follow it much anymore. I just like the feeling of being angry at somebody for writing a satirical critique of sports fans rioting because they're so happy that their team won. Although why would I be angry when I've never done that nor think Russell's wrong in his pointed and humorous critique?! Oh, who cares why! Being angry is just more fun! Oh shit! I finally understand people's attraction to Fox News! I just watched a YouTube clip of somebody's Jeremy Roenick highlights from NHL '94 set to the song "More Than a Feeling" and it was pretty awesome. Also, that was definitely the one we played nonstop back in 1993 and 94 and maybe even into 95. Roenick unstoppable down with the puck while Sharks players lay splayed out on their back all across the ice. To stop the riot, Superman calls in Repulso! He's a guy whose super power is super stink and he's kept in a locked room with a bare table and a microwave and nobody wants to be his friend because he smells like a garbage dumb that vomited on top of the diarrhea it shit out while standing on its head so the stanky muck ran down his body absorbing all of his body odor and then somebody cut up a durian and tossed it in the mix.

Superman is a dick. Get this guy some friends with no sense of smell. Or at the very least, an Xbox Gold account.

After the hockey riots, some "the end of the world" riots take place because Zan and Jayna screw up something or other. Basically what that means is that Repulso gets to be let out of his airtight containment unit again! He's a pretty optimistic guy for being sealed away by Superman (which is just Superman's way! Is somebody a problem? No problem! Put them in the Phantom Zone!). He's so happy and not bitter about his living arrangements that I feel like Zan and Jayna had better figure out a way to give him a better life before this issue ends. Because if Mark Russell fails this character he created before this issue is over and I have to face reality after snot crying about a fictional person, I'm going to be pretty upset when I continue to buy Mark Russell comic books because what other choice do I have? Am I going to stop reading DC's best written comic books because Mark Russell betrayed poor Repulso? Of course not! What am I? A person with integrity?! Repulso winds up getting his ass beat by rioters as Repulso's handlers flee the chaotic "end of the world" downtown riot scene. Luckily the Wonder Twins are headed downtown to save his life and maybe become his friend or something? Please? After Zan and Jayna save Repulso, Jayna goes to Superman to tell him everything sucks. He gives her a big speech about how being a hero is lonely work because you don't always get to fuck the hot chick at your secret identity's workplace and also fuck an Amazon warrior while also getting to fuck anybody at all whose initials are "L.L." and also have a best friend who is the coolest guy in the world with a butler who makes the best pancakes. Sometimes you're a fat jerk who smells who even Superman won't fucking give the time of day because Superman has this speech about how being a hero is lonely and that's a good thing so you should embrace your loneliness because who wants to put up with your super stink, fatty?

Jayna is a way better hero than Superman. At least in this comic book that's all about her and not Superman so of course she's going to outshine him!

Oh yeah, the ant in the above picture is Jayna. It can't smell. Wonder Twins #7 Rating: A+. I should probably be less cynical when reading Mark Russell comic books because he's as earnest and serious as he can be while also providing lots of jokes. He takes writing seriously because what else is there? If your message isn't going to matter, why bother? (is his philosophy. I think. It's not my philosophy! I don't think? Maybe it is! I just write things that matter in a much different way than Mark Russell writes things that matter.) I should probably read Superman's speech and be inspired by the idea that you don't do good because you want adulation; you do good because it's the right thing to do, even if the entire world thinks you're an asshole for doing it. Even if all of the other superheroes think you're a stinky fuck and only keep you around to use as a tool to oppress and manipulate the masses without having to use logic and reason on them (because, let's face it, the people doing terrible things don't understand logic and reason. Or they're do but they're just selfish and greedy so nothing is going to reach them anyway (which maybe is part of Superman's message?)), you're still a hero at the end of the day. You can still be proud of your stinky self. And even if the life is lonely, you should remain positive and upbeat because Superman really doesn't want to be reminded that you exist every time you complain about the lack of reasonable living conditions. Being a hero is a state of mind, says the guy who also looks great and is invulnerable and has the best wife and a cool son and doesn't have to fear death! So inspiring!

[impossiblelibrary]

Y'all tumblrs afraid of the military paraphernalia of Captain Marvel were straight up lying.

This was an homage to the air force, not the military, army or any such thing. To the people, the women who can fly now. This focused on the years just before 1993, when women were finally allowed to fly in combat missions. 1976, women were allowed to fly but only in 1993 were they allowed combat missions. And the music was so 90s. All the commercials and imagery were strictly air force imagery, which is the training you need before becoming an astronaut. You want women in space? You need women to fly.

Do you realize that as a young girl, I was watching Apollo 13, Armeggedon, Independence Day, Space Cowboys, these films about Air Force guys turned astronauts and not being able to argue about why there weren't any women astronauts, cause it was literally not allowed for women to get the experience they'd need. I couldn't argue about representation cause it wasn't even realistic and irl was not representing. Old people with heart issues made more sense than a young woman.

Spoilers ahead:

Captain Marvel was even about propaganda screwing with her. Are you kidding me? Y'all lied. I'm not even going to say anything else cause I don't want to ruin it.

And as for production value, it was right there with a Thor origin, not the trilogy cause that last one was epic and not to be repeated easily. It deux ex machina'd all day long cause that's what 90s comics did! Comic book writers would write themselves into a corner with a cliffhanger and have to do something crazy to get out of it. It warms my old nerdy heart to see it done in the big screen too.

And honestly, we're all just waiting on Captain Marvel to deux ex machina our way out of this Thanos mess anyway. It is cathartic, it is epic and powerful, it is joyous too. Y'all. Don't sleep on this. This ain't a filler. Ant-man was a filler. But we always have such low expectations on that one that we always get blown away anyway.

I must admit, I did cry 2x. Y'all spoiled me on the I shall rise bit, but with the music and timing of revelations, it still got me. I've seen a ton of men and boys get up after being hit down, and I love every one of those moments. But seeing all the versions of Carol doing it made me realize I had never seen that many girls or women doing the same power move in a movie without a man or boy helping us up before. Not that often, not even 5 times in my history of movie watching. Damn, that ain't right. Yes, I'll take 5 more versions of Carol doing it, please and thank you.

[lightlydream]

I missed this hellhole

I used to spend entire days, weeks, and months on this platform since I were attending high school, so according to my lack of mathematic skills... it sums up around 8 to 10 years. An important part of my identity was supported by anonymous interaction with living people (!) from every corner of this globe, yet sharing similiar fears and personal issues, hobbies and preferences, point of views about life and human needs.

Then the NSFW purge happened and I decided to flee to Twitter, without coming ever back there but for an instance in 2020. Was it worthy? I am kinda conflicted about the answer: I found amazing artists on Twitter as well, interesting profiles to get up-to-dated about social matters worldwide and some old cat memes, BUT also the very same toxic people harassing other utents according to their moral code and putting the latters' life in danger for the sake of "protecting children", "preserving the show X from weirdos", "fighting ßorn and abuse content producer", y'all know the shits. Yet a lot of Twitter profiles with ßorn GIFS and whatsover run rampant on the social, and you cannot be sure if the people there involved are legally adult, consenting to the sexual intercourse and to the implied distribuition on the World Wide Web.

Nowadays it seems like the adult population of the social networks, Tumblr included, is at the current risk of losing its once-a-time Internet space in the name of family-friendly Ads, politically correctness and censorship from several and different governments -mainly the US- . Internet was fucking built from adults for adults and I am not referring to fetish groups or veterans sharing propaganda agendas, but just to the opportunity for a commoning virtual democracy where everybody could enjoy the potential liberty to share and create so many interactions as much goods with the use of common "utensils" (language, shared values, open-source programs and more...), outside the "offline realm" and all the implied social rules 'n dogmas.

The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same.

I don't wanna talk further about it, rather I will try to explain shortly what happened to me in these last 3-4 years:

I worked until last summer (2018-21) as family entertainer in 4* Hotels in different touristic places in Italy, staying away from "home" for almost all the time;

Since I moved in Germany for the Erasmus+ Programme in Dresden, my goal was to keep studying further and get a Master Degree in Germany, thus I studied daily the language hard as much as I could...

AND because of my basic knowledge of German, soft-skills developed in some Erasmus+ like short programs in EU and the willingness to gain less than 1k monthly (in Italy NO ONE and I repeat- NO ONE under 35 yrs takes more than 1k pro month unless they're working at Amazon Warehouse or are lucky as fuck), I got the aforementioned job in the "Hotellerie";

Thanks to the little sum of money I hard collected in these last years, I managed to move in Germany as a student. It's real, I changed my future thanks to my own resolve.

I am really aware of my mental health, like, I was long-term depreßed, paranoid, and suic*dal as the danger to put an end to my own life, even before I would start living on my own, was concrete and tangible. I screamed for help to a therapist, which would advice me, to NOT book the flight toward Dresden at that time because my mind was too unstable, and I would have done something once for all times. I didn't listen to them and thus I saved myself. I had breakdowns, I cried on the streets in the mid of the night, I had panicked because of uncertainty, and my biological family would just make it all even worse; but I found it also, how much I lost in my youth and deserved to have a second chance to experience the world as a single human being, with a pumping heart and desired on their own. It did happen and I am so thankful to the friends who stayed close to me in those dark moments, as much as to myself, who allowed to try, fail, and try again anything I wanted to master, so that I could say at the end of the day "I learnt something new".

So now? I'm a broke italian student in Germany, with way too many experiences of any kind on their own behalf, I recognize myself as a woman (she/her) and dealing with my own internalized compulsory heterosexuality (am I ENOUGH bisexual? Can I call myself bi, if I never had ANY kind of relationship with anyone?), while trying my best to improve my surroundings and the people who are somehow connected with me. I have the power to do so, I'm now finally aware of it.

I am the protagonist of my own life, finally, and it's time to dance in this ballroom called "society".

So... expect some cat memes, pokèmons and brainstorming from this fool.

[ladyseaheart1668]

Endless Summer Fan Novel (Book 1, Chapter 3)

Darkness enfolds me, cold, quiet, and still. Then it stirs, creeping towards me. Powerful, rippling muscles. Glowing golden eyes...

I awake with a gasp beneath a leafy canopy in a four-poster bed. Sweat soaks the soft sheets and blanket. I flop back on the pillow, willing my heart to slow.

“What the hell was that thing?” I murmur aloud. It takes me a few moments to stop trembling. But once I do, I start to feel the effects of the night before creeping up on me, and I groan. I knocked back a couple more cocktails after coming back up from the beach, mostly to calm myself down. The throbbing pain behind my eyes tells me that was a very poor idea. Not to mention the effects of the late night in general. It occurs to me to wonder what time it is. I fumble for my phone on the nightstand beside me.

9:27am. And still no cell service. I check for a wi-fi signal, but there is none to be found. Not even a secured signal. I sigh and put the phone down. Might as well get up, I guess. I push back the covers, stumbling into the bathroom.

I turn on the shower and gulp some water from the sink while I wait for the stream to get warm. It doesn't take long, and I strip and step under the soothing water. The strong pressure feels like a gentle massage. The shower is stocked with exotic floral body washes and shampoos. I savor the fragrance as I scrub the sweat from my body and rinse the chlorine from my hair. I should have done that last night. Blonde hair and pool water usually don't mix. But so far my hair hasn't turned green. Sooner than I want to, I turn off the water and step out onto the mossy green bathmat. I gulp more sink water. I make the bed—because I haven't seen the housekeeping staff anywhere, either—pull on some clothes, and hang my towel to dry.

By the time I've finished brushing my teeth, the headache is fading, and my stomach is starting to growl. I take a few more gulps of water, tuck my room key into my pocket and wander down to the hotel restaurant.

I'm greeted by a chaotic scene, and a cacophony of smells from the buffet table.

“Uh, Raj,” Sean says, “when you said you were going to cook breakfast, I figured, you know, pancakes and bacon. Not...what is this, again?”

“The Raj Hangover Special 9000! A perfect scramble of eggs, potatoes, oysters, and bananas, topped off with pickle juice. Trust me, dudes, it'll cure your hangovers before you can say 'this tastes gross and weird.' Just try it.”

“...This tastes gross and weird,” Jake mutters.

Zahra grimaces. “I do not want this in this place, I do not want this in my face.”

“Y'all are missing out,” Craig declares, shoveling in another mouthful. “This shizz is delicious!”

“I once saw you eat a rock,” Michelle says flatly.

“That was a dare, and I won ten bucks!”

As they notice my entrance, my classmates go quiet.

“Well, well, well,” Jake drawls. “If it isn't the Girl Who Cried Monster.”

“Seriously, Alodia,” Raj laughs. “You shut down the party faster than the cops back home.”

“That's what you care about?” Estella sneers.

I smile sheepishly. “Sorry about that. I know I kinda freaked everyone out last night.”

“Pfft. Didn't freak me out,” Craig insists. “Nothing freaks Craig out!”

“Craig, let Alodia talk,” Sean chides.

“...That's pretty much it. I promise I'll try not to ruin anymore parties.”

“Good!” Raj says. “Because tonight, we're running it baaaaaack!”

Everyone laughs. I join in, but I stop when I notice Estela looking at me with disappointment.

“Hey, stranger.” Diego sidles up to me, holding a plate piled high with Raj's sizzling hangover cure. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I'm fine. It was just...a rough night.”

“Care for some breakfast?”

I eye the plate in his hands warily. The concoction looks like pureed scrambled eggs and smells like salted fish. “...I don't know if I should.”

“It's actually not bad.” He grins as my stomach growls audibly. “And face it, you need to eat something. Let's get you a plate.”

I relent, and move to the buffet table where I fill a plate with pale yellow salty-fish-scented goop. I fill a glass with orange juice.

“So, uh...I hate to give you a middle school flashback, but what table should we sit at?”

I look around for two empty seats. At one table, Michelle asks Raj and Craig where the resort gym is. At another, Aleister, Grace, and Zahra are discussing something Grace found at the beach. I drift over to the first table. I know Michelle hates me, but I like Raj, and I don't have anything against Craig. Besides, I can probably follow their conversation better.

“Hey, guys. I heard you talking about the gym? I'd totally be down to hit that up.”

Michelle scoffs. “Oh, sweetie, did you think I was talking to you? I'm going to the gym because I want to work out, not watch you have another meltdown.”

“Hey!” Diego says. “At the peak of her gymnastics career, Allie was in the gym about five hours a day!”

“Slight exaggeration. And I hardly had a career.” But I flash him a grateful smile.

“Come on, Michelle,” Raj chimes in. “Go easy on Alodia. We're all stuck on this island together, we might as well get along.”

“Pfft. Says you. I don't get along with anyone I don't want to.”

“Craig, dude, you don't get along with anyone, period.”

“He's got you there,” Michelle says.

I cover a chuckle by stuffing a forkful of egg goo into my mouth. ...It's like eating a pile of mushy salt with fish, banana, and egg aftertaste. If only I weren't so hungry. I gulp the rest of it before I can taste too much.

“Hey, you got that down pretty quick,” Raj remarks. “Did you like it?”

“...I'm going to be tasting that in my burps all day.”

“Absolutely!”

At that moment, the door swings open, and Lila enters, looking bright-eyed and flawless.

“Good morning, everyone! I hope you're all enjoying your lovely breakfast in our five-star restaurant. But I might've found out what happened to all the guests.” She pauses to let us react, but we're all waiting for her to continue.

“...Well?” Jake prompts. “Spit it out, Dimples.”

“Well, I went into the staff office to look for information. One of the computers in there, the one used for island-wide broadcasts, was still running. It turns out exactly two days ago, at 3:45 PM, someone used the emergency broadcast system to trigger a full evacuation of the hotel.”

“An evacuation?”

“It's a standard procedure at all Rourke International resorts. In the event of a natural disaster, the guests vacate the premises and head to a secure shelter.”

“A natural disaster?” I snicker. “You mean like Raj's cooking?”

Craig laughs. “Ha! Buuuuuuuurn!”

Raj presses his fist to his chest. “Ouch, Alodia. Major ouch.”

Lila blinks. “Yes. Well...questionable cooking aside, the evacuation procedures here were designed specifically to handle only certain cases. A hurricane, a viral outbreak, or Mount Atropo finally erupting.”

“Yeah, well, I don't see any hurricanes, virus, or lava flows,” Jake says skeptically.

“So, why trigger the evacuation procedure?” Sean asks.

“False alarm, maybe,” Quinn suggests. “But in that case, why hasn't anyone come back?”

“Perhaps everyone is still at the shelter,” Estela says thoughtfully. “Lila, where is it?”

“I...don't entirely know. I've never actually been there. But the signs on the trail say we'll find it if we hike north for a few miles.”

“I'm in,” Jake says.

Lila blinks again. “I'm sorry?”

“You're going to go look for it, right? Well, I'm coming with you. The rest of these kids are having fun playing Home Alone 2: Island Boogaloo, but I was already supposed to be in Cancun. I'm losing cash every second I waste here.”

“I will come as well,” Aleister says. “I...I'd like to get the lay of the land around here.”

“I want to go too!” Quinn chimes in. “I'd love to help out and see some of the sights.”

“How about you, Princess? You coming?”

I start a little. “...Me?” Involuntarily, I think of the thing I saw in the shadows last night. “Well...I...”

Jake waves a hand. “Hey, don't worry about it. If you're scared, you're scared. Just stay back here with the rest of the Goof Troop.”

“Wait! I'm coming, too.”

“You are?” Diego raises an eyebrow at me. “Why?”

I shrug. “I want to see the island. This hotel is great, but there's so much more to see. I want to see the jungles and the ruins and the waterfalls.”

He smirks. “And the creepy bomb shelter that is almost certainly full of zombies?”

“Exactly!”

“Fine, fine. I'll go with you. But only so I can say 'I told you so' when something horrible attacks us.”

I grin and give him a thumbs up. “That's the spirit!”

“All right, then!” Lila claps her hands. “Let's head out!”

* * *

A short time later, four of us follow Lila down a winding path through the rainforest. Jake and Aleister lag behind. Quinn, looking angelic in a white blouse with a white bandana tied like a babushka over her copper hair, skips ahead a little ways to marvel at the flowers on the trees and bushes. The flowers glow with a soft, colorful light. When I first saw them, I thought they were lightbulbs, something draped over the foliage like Christmas lights. But the glow is coming from inside the petals themselves.

“Unbelievable,” Quinn breathes. “These colors, these textures...they're like something out of a dream.”

“I've never seen anything like it,” I agree.

“Beautiful, right?” Lila says. “Due to its geographic isolation, La Huerta has one of the most unique ecosystems on the planet, boasting flora and fauna not found anywhere else.”

“Sure thing, Minnie Mouse,” Jake grumbles. “Keep spewing that Rourke International propaganda. I ain't buying it.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Aleister snaps.

“I'm just saying. All the brochures go on about how this place is some sorta Disney paradise. But drink in the right dive bars, and you'll start to hear rumors about what really goes on here. Criminal plots, illegal experiments, folks going missing...all kinds of crazy.”

Quinn wrinkles her nose. “Conspiracy theories? Really?”

“Laugh it up, Pippi Longstocking. While you were busy tweeting about your pumpkin spice latte, I was flying covert missions over Kandahar. Once you've peeked behind that curtain...well, let's just say there's some things out there that would blow your mind. The pretty purple flowers you're ooh-ing and ahh-ing about? They might just be sizzling with radiation.”

“That is preposterous!” Aleister cries.

“What do you think, Princess? You trust this place?” I hesitate a moment, eyeing the flowers. Then I back away. Jake nods approvingly. “Knew I could count on you.”

Aleister rolls his eyes. “Tell me you don't believe his conspiracy theory prattle.”

“I don't know what I believe, but I say better safe than sorry. Unique ecosystem or not, flowers should not glow like that.”

“Well, I still think they're beautiful,” Quinn says with finality. “And I'm not going to let some conspiracy theory keep me from appreciating that.”

She plucks a flower and puts it to her nose, inhaling deeply. ...Oh, my God, she is adorable. Diego elbows me lightly.

“What's with that goofy smile?” he whispers.

“Oh, shut up, Diego,” I hiss back, feeling myself blush.

Ahead of us, Lila stops suddenly and looks around in confusion. “...This...doesn't make any sense.”

“What?”

“Well, the signpost said the shelter should be right here...”

“Oh, great!” Aleister groans. “Even the tour guide's lost. What do they pay you for, again?”

“Tactical scouting 101 kids,” Jake says. “Get to high ground. See that rocky cliff over there? I'm checking it out.”

“Oh!” Quinn exclaims. “Do you hear that? Sounds like a waterfall nearby. The shelter might be near that.”

“Or you just want to go check out the waterfall,” Diego quips.

“Or that,” she agrees sweetly.

“I really think we should stick to the trail,” Lila says. “The shelter might be further ahead.”

“We could split up,” I suggest. “Cover a little more ground.”

“I'll stick to the trail with Lila,” Diego says.

Aleister crosses his arms stubbornly. “Well, I am staying right here. I see no reason to traipse around on some fool's errand.”

“Well, y'all know where I'm headed,” Jake says. He looks at me. “You wanna keep me some company, Princess?”

“Uh...yeah. Sure.”

“Stay within shouting distance!” Lila calls as we split off.

Jake and I head off through the undergrowth towards the hilltop. Jake moves easily through the dense tangle of leaves and branches. He deftly hops a log and slides under a low-hanging branch.

“Impressive. You do this a lot?”

“Get stranded on mysterious islands with a group of plucky college kids? Gotta say, it's a first.”

“I meant, go hiking, walk through jungles, that kind of thing. You seem pretty confident in the outdoors.”

“I grew up in a Louisiana town so rural it wasn't even on the map. When it comes down to it, the swamp and the jungle ain't so different.”

“Probably not as many gators out here though.”

“Less gators, more jaguars. I'll call it even. How about you, Princess? This your kinda scene?”

“Actually, yeah. I mean, I admit I grew up in the SoCal suburbs, but I love the outdoors. The blue sky overhead...the fresh air...that soft sea breeze... I should probably be more freaked out. Especially after that...whatever...I saw last night. Being out here, like this, I don't know. I can't help but feel happy.”

Jake raises an eyebrow at me. “That why you came along with me? You felt like a nature hike?”

“Well, you invited me. And...I guess I felt safer following you than Lila.You're confident. You're capable. And you seem to know what you're doing here more than she does. Or any of us for that matter.” I pause. “...Come to think of it, why would you ask me to come along?”

He shrugs. “Because I can already tell you're going to be the horse to back here.”

“I...what?”

“You're smart. Maybe not book smart. At least, not as much as Draco Malfoy back there, or...what's her name with the glasses?”

“Grace.”

“Right. Grace. But you've got a good head on your shoulders. You're also braver than either Grace or Malfoy, and when it comes down to it, I would bet money you're the one everyone's going to look to when things go sideways.”

“You say that like you're expecting them to go sideways.”

“I am, Princess. I am.”

I can't tell if he means that, or if he's just being facetious “...Are you ever going to call me by my real name?”

“When you've earned it.”

“I think you've forgotten it.”

“Have not. I saw all your boarding passes in Costa Rica. ...It's Alodia Chandler, right? Or do you prefer Allie?”

“Alodia. Diego's the only one who gets to call me Allie. That's a right you have to earn.”

“...Are you and he...?”

“Me and Diego? Please. I've known him since we were in diapers. He's practically my brother. Besides...” I discreetly point towards my pubis. “I'm missing a piece he finds essential. ...Best friend I've ever had, though.”

“Thought so. Got that vibe from him.”

“Is it that obvious? I know he's not Sean Gayle, but he's not camp, either.”

“He's not lisping or limp-wristing. It's pretty subtle. And if you've known him all your lives it's probably harder for you to pick up on since it's all just your friend to you.” He pauses. “And I'd be surprised if Sean Gayle hasn't kissed at least a couple boys in his time.”

“You think he's bi?”

“I think he's attracted to personality more than what's between a person's legs. Call that what you will.”

“For a lone wolf type, you seem pretty confident in your ability to read people. Or maybe it's just your amazing gaydar.”

“Well, it is damn amazing. Of course, it's wasted on you.”

“What do you mean?”

He grins. “Come on. You're not exactly subtle. If we put Quinn and Sean in front of you and had them bend over, you wouldn't know which ass to stare at.”

It takes a moment for his words to sink in. Then I laugh. “You're a brat, Top Gun! What about you, then? What's your pleasure?”

His smile slips. He looks away. “...Been a long time since I've shared my bed with anyone, man or woman.” He turns back to me with a wry grin. “Hard to get frisky in a hammock. ...But it don't much matter to me what a person's got in their pants. It's what's in their head that I'm picky about.”  

I am distracted from responding when we break through the branches and arrive at the foot of a sharp, jagged cliff face.

“If we can just get up that, we'll have a clear view,” he says. “How's your rock climbing?”

“Great. I mean...pretty good. Average?” I shrug apologetically. “I'm a gymnast, but I've really only done rock-climbing at the Y. But I never broke anything.”

“Good enough for me.”

He crouches down and gives me a boost, hoisting me up to a low ledge. Together, we carefully ascend the cliff face, grabbing handholds and sticking our toes in cracks to stabilize ourselves. Before too long, Jake crests the top. I'm just a few inches behind him when the rock I'm holding onto breaks off in my hand. I cry out, grabbing at the ledge, and hook my fingers on the edge. Jake grabs my arms and helps me up.

“Nice moves, Princess. Looks like you learned from the stairs on the control tower.”

“Still glad for the help.”

We take a moment to catch our breath, looking out over the island.

“...I gotta hand it to this place,” I say softly. “It never stops taking my breath away.”

“That's the radiation.”

I sigh. “You're a real glass-half-full kinda guy, aren't you?” I mutter.

“...I'm on an island owned by Rourke International. Don't trust that they haven't poisoned this place. In the military, I served near some of their mining operations. ...Massive machines that dwarfed skyscrapers. The kind that rob the earth blind and leave it barren.”

“...I gotta admit I didn't take you for an environmentalist.”

“I'm not. I just think you reap what you sow.”

“So...you believe in karma?”

“Doesn't matter what I believe. In my life, karma's made it pretty clear that it believes in me.” He pauses. “...Seriously, though...that is one hell of a sight...”

“No weird lights in the sky, either.”

“For now.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“...Hey...what's this?”

Jake kneels and brushes at some dirt. I see something glinting in the sun. I kneel beside him. Embedded into the stone is a square-shaped metallic plate with what looks like the head of a wolf embossed on it.

“What is that?”

“I dunno.” Jake frowns, staring at the plate. “There's no writing or anything. Looks like...some kinda wolf?”

“You think it's part of the resort? Like the corporation put it here?”

“Maybe...but why? If it's a warning that there are wolves in the area it's a pretty crap warning, given its location. And I don't know many species of wolves that live in the rainforest.”

I slide my phone out of my back pocket and snap a quick picture of the plate. As I tuck my phone back into my pocket, something catches my eye.

“Jake, look! Down by that river over there...the gray building? Sure looks a lot like...”

“A shelter! Hot damn! Good eyes, Princess!”

“Couldn't have got here without you.”

We smile at each other for a long, silent moment. Then Jake clears his throat.

“We, uh...should probably head back. Find the others and tell them where to go.”

“Yeah. We should. Definitely.”

Jake takes a step towards the edge, then looks back. “Gotta say...this was actually kind of fun. Maybe before I fly back, we can go on another climb together.”

“Sure. I'd like that.”

We regroup with the others and make our way to the shelter. The enormous concrete and cinder building is covered with creeping vines.

“Great job, Jake and Alodia!” Lila chirps. “You found it!”

“I wouldn't go popping the champagne just yet,” Diego says. “Anyone else getting some 28 Days Later vibes off this place?”

“It does look a little...dilapidated,” Quinn agrees. “How old is this place?”

“It's no older than the resort,” Lila says. “I will have to have a stern word with the caretakers!”

“Whole point of a shelter is keeping you safe inside, not looking good outside,” Jake points out with a shrug. “Come on.”

Lila pushes open the doors, revealing a long hallway that looks just as dilapidated as the outside. Vines snake along the floor, and broken fixtures overhead cough sparks.

“...Empty...”

Jake shudders. “On second thought, maybe Pop Culture Petey was right. This place gives me the creeps.”

“I finally get a nickname, and it's 'Pop Culture Petey'?” Diego mutters indignantly. “Everyone else got a cooler one!”

“Not everyone. I'm 'Princess', remember?”

“Anyone else want to go back to the pretty jungle with the magic flowers?” Quinn asks in a small voice. “Anyone?”

Jake kneels and trails his fingertips on the ground. “There's a lot of muddy shoeprints around. They seem recent.”

“You mean the guests were here?”

“Well...someone was.”

A skittering sound makes us all startle. Jake leaps to his feet.

“What was that?”

I look in the direction the sound seemed to come from. There is a gaping hole in the far wall where the concrete has crumbled. Vines and glowing flowers cover the edges like a wreath. ...Or dried blood on a wound, I think involuntarily.

I approach cautiously, the others gathering behind me. At the edge of the hole, I hesitate. Then I gather my courage and peer inside.

“...There's something in there.”

“What do you see?” Diego asks.

Something shifts in the darkness. Two spots of reflected light glint out of the shadows. A pair of eyes.

“There's something alive in there!”

“Certainly it's just a rat,” Aleister says most uncertainly. “...Right?”

There's a strange clicking sound that comes from inside the hole, separate from the sound of claws scraping on stone that accompanies it.

“That's no rat,” Jake murmurs.

“Allie, is that the...thing you saw last night?”

“...It's...” I'm cut off by my own cry as the shape rushes towards me, its shadow huge on the wall, and pounces into the light. We all whirl towards it, and stop.

A creature about the size and shape of a fox, with violet eyes and ice-blue fur, sits on its haunches in front of us and cocks its head.

“Mrrlk?” it trills curiously.

“...What the...?”

“Oh...my...God!” Quinn squeals.

“What...is it?” Aleister asks.

“Uh, literally the cutest thing I've ever seen!” Quinn answers, practically beaming.

“Okay, can we all officially agree this is not a real animal?” Jake says.

As if understanding, the fox-thing trills sadly, its tail and ears drooping. It backs away from us into a corner, trembling. Frost clings to the walls behind him.

“Huh...it looks scared.”

“But what would it be scared of?” I ask. “Us?”

Any reply I might have gotten is cut off by a deep growl from directly behind me. My veins turn to ice. I turn slowly.

An enormous feliform beast is prowling towards us from the shadows, muscles rippling under skin and golden-brown fur. Massive cuspids, each at least the length of my hand from fingertips to wrist, descend from its upper jaw. My heart drops into my stomach. I know in an instant that I'm looking at the creature I saw last night.

“That!” Aleister cries. “That! It's scared of that!”

“You think?!” Lila shrieks.

The fox creature scurries behind me, curling against my ankles.

“Jake!” I cry. “What do we do?!”

Jake looks at me. For the first time, he looks scared. He grabs my hand and holds it tight.

“Don't. Move.”

[hillaryisaboss]

I hope Hillary includes these key points in her book "What Happened": Hillary Rodman Clinton already made it to the White House twice with her husband, President William Jefferson Clinton. The Clintons don't have anything left to prove. The Clintons left us a surplus and a booming economy (23 million new jobs, 7 million fewer living in poverty, minimum wage up 20%). President Bill Clinton balanced the budget 4-times because he was a great negotiator and a true pragmatist. These days, both the far-left and the far-right hate pragmatists. During the '90s, Hillary helped create the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP -- 8.9 million children insured) and was instrumental in all of Bill’s policy decisions. Many said Hillary was the one who ran the White House during the prosperous 1990s. The Clintons will always be political icons and legends. Two-time winners that won the popular vote for a 3rd straight time. Thanks for leaving our country in such great shape! The 1990s were great. Wish we could have continued our progress with Vice President Al Gore. Unfortunately, in America, we usually switch parties every 8 years no matter what. But just think where we would be on global warming if Vice President Al Gore had won after President Bill Clinton. Sadly, I guess progressives always love screwing us after two-terms of a Democrat -- cue Ralph Nader and Bernie Sanders (spoilers). Obama is lucky he didn't face a far-left opponent, which would have diminished his support among millennials -- a core part of the Democratic coalition missing in 2016. It's as if we don't understand the word "pragmatism" after we've had a Democrat in the White House for 8 years. Remember: Hillary had the most progressive platform of all-time. She would have built on President Obama's progress. Just like Gore would have done in 2000 after Clinton. When will progressives remember history? "Those who don't learn history are doomed to repeat it." ~George Santayana Y'all could have voted for the most progressive platform of all time -- a platform Hillary worked on directly with Bernie Sanders. Yet many of you ultimately voted for Donald Trump. Sexism? Oh and nothing Hillary did with her e-mail server was illegal. Republicans have been manufacturing fake Clinton scandals for decades, even creating a small cottage industry for "Clinton Hate" ($$$). That is why so many Americans chanted "Lock Her Up" at Trump rallies. They have bought into decades of Clinton smears. It’s a clever tactic. Yet Hillary was triumphant and destroyed the false Benghazi witch-hunt during her brilliant 11-hour testimony. No one puts on a show better than a Clinton. Sorry Trump. '90s Bill was awesome. In addition -- the Clinton Foundation provides HIV/AIDS medicine to 11.5 million people, none of the ���pay-to-play” accusations has ever been proven (it’s all speculation), and the Uranium Deal is correlated with donations to the Clinton Foundation but not proven to be the causation of the donations. Correlation doesn't equal causation. Again – pay-to-play has never been proven (unlike the Trump Foundation which is, in-fact, guilty of pay-to play in the state of Florida). Meanwhile, the Clinton Foundation has a higher charity rating than the Red Cross. So let us never forget: the Clinton Foundation provides 11.5 million people with HIV/AIDS medication. That amounts to supporting half of all adults and 75% of all children affected by the virus worldwide. Also -- none of Hillary's e-mails were correctly marked as classified at the time they were sent and none were directly sent by Hillary herself (that’s why the FBI ultimately dropped the case). The few e-mails that were classified didn't have the proper markings and were only found in long e-mail chains, never sent by Hillary herself. Having a private server was a mistake, though not illegal. Remember -- it was originally set up for President Clinton. It was never sinisterly set up after Hillary got the job as Secretary of State. It was a pre-existing server that has been proven to be safer than the already hacked government servers. Remember -- Hillary's server was set up for a former President. Talk about a mountain being made out of a mole hill. Ultimately, though, Hillary still beat Trump by 3 million votes and beat Bernie by 4 million votes. 7 million more total votes for Hillary Rodham Clinton. The last two Republican Presidents lost the popular vote – Bush and Trump. Democrats are the majority. Have been since 1992, especially if you consider voter suppression of minorities in red states. Trump was right, however – the electoral college *IS* a rigged system. Republicans can never win both the electoral college *AND* the popular vote. On the contrary, President Bill Clinton and President Obama won both the popular vote *AND* the electoral college. Did I mention Bernie lost the popular vote by 4 million votes? The DNC "corruption" charges don't change the fact that Bernie lost the popular vote by 4 million. 4 million! Maybe his support of the NRA hurt him at the polls? Also -- Bernie half-heartedly campaigned for Hillary and by that point, his most ardent supporters thought Hillary was vile scum. Nothing even Bernie said could change their minds. Some even called Bernie a "sell-out." Unfortunately, Bernie ran a horribly negative campaign towards the end and stayed in the primary for far too long. This delayed Hillary being able to morph into general election mode, and required Hillary to do a ton of repair work. I guess I'll never understand why Bernie supporters couldn't just vote for the platform -- for a chance to finally have two consecutive Democratic Administrations. Naive? Oh and can you imagine the field day Fox News would have had with Socialist Sanders, his rape essay's, and the fact he wanted to raise taxes on everyone to pay for moochers to go to college? Middle America never would have gone for that, either. Interestingly, the Clintons pay a higher tax-rate than Bernie -- 35.% vs. 13%. Who truly is the corrupt one? Plus -- Bernie couldn't show us how he was going to pay for any of his plans (as Bill used to say -- we need some "arithmetic!"). Oh and good luck getting a GOP Congress to pass his Socialist budget. A real revolution is 60 Democratic votes in Congress. But Bernie spends all his time demonizing us and our party. Who let him in...? Yet despite Bernie-mania demonizing Hillary for playing the game and winning (Nader 2.0), suffering highly personal attacks from Trump (bringing Bill's accusers to the 2nd debate -- though Bill has never faced a conviction/affairs are different than rape), blatant sexism from everyone (even subconscious), fake Benghazi and e-mail “scandals,” the racist Obama backlash ("deplorables" -- Hillary was right!), the trend of one party only staying in power for a max of two-terms (8 years), Brexit (making Trump a very strong candidate contrary to popular brief -- exploiting racism/propaganda/nationalism), the media claiming a false equivalence between Hillary's negatives and Trump's negatives for ratings, and Russia targeting Middle America with “fake news,” Hillary was *STILL* riding high in the polling after her 3 debate dominations. Then... Comey re-opened the Clinton e-mail case right at the very last minute. I remember looking at the photo of Hillary receiving the news on her plane. I thought -- is this the moment Hillary lost the election? It was. So I guess I don't understand why people don't just come out and say the 2016 election was stolen from Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton. Are people afraid to? Because I'm not. Ironically, the official reason Trump gave for firing James Comey was his malpractice in regards to the Clinton e-mail case -- the very thing that won Trump the election. The re-opening of the e-mail case came after the Trump Access Hollywood tape, switching the headlines from negative Trump headlines to negative Clinton headlines. The re-opening of the e-mail case caused many voters that were inclined to vote for Hillary to just stay home on Election Day. It depressed Hillary's turnout. So did the fact that everyone thought Hillary was going to win. Many assumed Hillary would win and therefore didn’t vote. Were they totally wrong in their assumption? No. Why? Because Hillary won the popular vote by 3 million (and no, it wasn't because of illegals voting, you right-wing conspiracy theory nuts). Despite literally *EVERYTHING* thrown at her, Hillary was still polling high at the very end due to her 3 debate dominations. But Comey screwed her at the very last minute -- the ultimate "October Surprise." Oh and remember: Comey was already in the midst of the Trump-Russia investigation, but chose not to publicly comment on that investigation. Yet he publicly commented on the re-opening of the Clinton e-mail investigation? Double standard? Malpractice? Trump seems to think so based on the fact that he fired Comey over his handling of the Clinton e-mail case. However, Hillary truly is forever the "People's President" -- 3 million more total votes. Never forget: Trump deeply resents and hates that he lost the popular vote. It delegitimizes him. He's a big numbers guy. So always bring up his popular vote loss. It infuriates him. It also appears Hillary's themes of "Love Trumps Hate" and "Stronger Together" actually made for a brilliant strategy that received more total votes. By the millions. I don't buy the argument that her political framing was off. In fact -- I think her slogans were right-on the money. Perfect in an election facing a propaganda artist and ultimate con-man like Donald J. Trump. A man who relied on hate, fear, division, scapegoating, nationalism, and propaganda to win the electoral college (ie: Middle America). Furthermore, Hillary was the first person to correctly point out Trump's reckless temperament, something we are currently suffering from right now in regards to North Korea. "A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons." ~Hillary Rodham Clinton Unfit. Unqualified. I also loved the fact that Hillary called out his dog-whistling to racists. She was the first high-profile person to do so in no uncertain terms. Trump not only loves the support of white racists, he emboldens them. Maybe that's why he was sued by the Justice Department in the 1970s for housing discrimination against African American. He's a racist. Sadly, everything Hillary predicted and warned us about Trump is coming to fruition. Is it still "too negative" for you if everything Hillary said about Trump comes true within his first 6 months? Though I still fundamentally believe that "Love Trumps Hate" and that we are, in-fact, "Stronger Together." I think those slogans are why people felt so awful on Election Day -- *HATE* won based on an outdated election system. Oh and the fact that lots of people that should have voted stayed home. Guilt is a very powerful emotion (Bernie-Bro's, I'm looking at you!) Get rid of the electoral college. It has cost us 2 elections in 20 years. Gore received 500,000 more votes than Bush. Hillary received 3 million more votes than Trump. (Oh, and it would have come down to more than just Michigan and Wisconsin -- another state would still be needed) Hillary also doesn't get the credit she rightfully deserves: Youngest lawyer ever appointed to an impeachment trial -- 27-year-old Yale Law graduate Hillary Rodham. Watergate. Children's Defense Fund: Investigated African American juveniles being placed in South Carolina adult prisons, and posed as a racist housewife to expose segregation throughout schools in the South. First Lady of Arkansas: Hillary successfully reformed the entire K-12 Arkansas educational system, expanded healthcare for those in rural Arkansas, worked at the Arkansas Children's Hospital Legal Services, and co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. First female partner of the Rose Law Firm. The joke in Arkansas was that they "hired the wrong Clinton." First Lady of the United States: Hillary spearheaded the Adoption and Safe Families Act, the Foster Care Independence Act, Office on Violence Against Women, the Campaign Against Teenage Pregnancy (lowering abortion and teenage pregnancy rates), and the Children's Health Insurance Program -- providing 8.9 million low-income children with healthcare access. In 1994, Hillary proclaimed on the world stage in Beijing, China: "If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights once and for all." Two-time New York Senator: Hillary secured 20 billion in federal funds to rebuild downtown New York City after 9/11. She also secured healthcare for 9/11 First Responders and expanded access to care for the National Guard, Reservists, and their families. U.S. Secretary of State: Passed the first-ever U.N Resolution on gay rights (proclaiming "human rights are gay rights and gay rights are human rights" on the world stage) and made it so trans Americans could legally change their gender on their passport. Hillary also rebuilt relations with every nation after the disastrous Bush Administration, traveling to 112 countries -- more than any other Secretary of State. Our worldwide favorability rose 20% during Hillary's tenure. Her primary focus was on women's rights, bringing up issues such as forced abortion and maternal mortality rates. Hillary re-opened relations with Burma, enacted a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and killed Osama Bin Laden. She also was instrumental in putting together the Paris Climate Agreement, something Trump has since removed us from. Inspirational Hillary quotes: “I’m not going to mislead anybody. Politics is really hard. And it is harder for women. There’s a double standard, and you can’t complain about it. You just have to accept it, and be smart enough to navigate it. And you have to have a pretty tough skin. To paraphrase a favorite quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: If a woman wants to be in politics, she has to have the skin of a rhinoceros. So occasionally I’ll be sitting somewhere and I’ll be listening to someone perhaps not saying the kindest things about me. And I’ll look down at my hand and I’ll sort of pinch my skin to make sure it still has the requisite thickness I know Eleanor Roosevelt expects me to have.” ~Hillary Rodham Clinton "When you stumble, keep faith. And when you're knocked down, get right back up, and never listen to anyone who says you can't or shouldn't go on." ~Hillary Rodham Clinton "I really don't spend a lot of time worrying about what people think about me...I would be totally paralyzed. How could you get up in the morning if you worried about some poll or what somebody said about you? That's giving up power over your life to somebody else, and I don't intend to do that." ~Hillary Rodham Clinton "Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward. Life is too short, time is too precious, and the stakes are too high to dwell on what might have been." ~Hillary Rodham Clinton Never Forget: The Clintons are 2-time winners and 3-time popular vote victors. Thanks for the surplus! 3 million more votes! Love Trumps Hate! Stronger Together! Currently ordering 50 copies of Hillary's book, "What Happened." #imSTILLwithher

[commexokid]

Mental Health Update #777

Helloooo friends, I've been taking a break from tumblr for various reasons, mostly because I was scared of opening it up on a governement computer. I have gotten over that. Please don't message me about bombs.

So I've been on my lowered dosage for like a week or so. I've missed it a couple of times but!!! I didn't get super rough withdrawal symptoms those days, which was 100% guarateed before. I feel like that could be progress and good news for when I go off completely. I also haven't experienced many mental health issues or changes in my behaviors since lowering the dose. I might be a little bit easier to tears/more emotional at points, but it doesn't bother me. I'm fine with sad things making me sad haha

I've added a few more things to my routine like stopping what I'm doing and stretching three times a day. This morning is the first time since deciding this that I woke up early enough to do it in the morning, but I've also been doing it at work after lunch and before I go to bed. Maybe I'll be able to touch my toes soon!

Ah, ok, I lied, I have noticed some mental health problems: only when I go to the gym. I can't deal with the people around me and the negative thoughts I put on myself there. So instead of pushing it, I got a yoga mat and some resistence bands, and now that it's getting colder, I'll go on more walks. I haven't cancelled my gym membership yet (again) because I keep thinking I might use it occasionally and I'm a little embarrassed about cancelling it less than a month after getting it.

I liked to think I'm eating healthier and I feel good. Breakfast and lunch are good meals for me, but dinner is where I may or may not eat an entire pizza. So that's a problem. But this is leagues above where I was with my nutrition.

Somehow, though, I've managed to gain wait and that is upsetting. It could be the change in my medication routine, but I dunno. I've also missed my period for two months straight which could be anything, but I've joked that I'm the new Virgin Mary. I'll let y'all know if I pop out the savior next year.

I've cooled off on witchcraft a bit but I'm still super pagan. I just dont feel like I have the energy/space/time to do any rituals. My room is half packed and full of boxes and just a mess in general, and I haven't felt interested in attending my local pagan group's full moon and sabbat rituals recently. I still want to celebrate but I think.... I think my life is kind of in this weird transition phase where I know everthing is going to be totally different for me next year, so everything's on pause until I can get settled down in New York. It's weird.

My coworker is lending me a pair of hiking shoes and I'm going on a hike with her and a group of people next weekend. I'm really excited!! Hiking is something I've alway been interested in but have never been able to do. I plan to do it often in Upstate NY and I've already picked out a bunch of trails I want to try. But first, maybe I should conquer at least one Florida trail, huh? It'll be a short, four mile track, so hopefully nothing too insane. I'm excited to see some beautiful nature. <3

OH!!! I FINISHED A BOOK! TWO BOOKS!!! FICTION BOOKS!!!

First was "The Moon is Down" by John Steinbeck. I picked it because I had the song "San Francisco" by Vanessa Carlton stuck in my head ("And now, I'm walking with the living; I always liked Steinbeck and those old men whistling. We're back, we're back in San Francisco. We're back and you tell me I am home"). It's was a propaganda story that Steinbeck wrote during WWII to bolster resistance in european countries taken over by Nazis. It's honestly so good.

Second, "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood. You know, the one on Hulu. I never was able to watch it so I decided to read the book. It was ridiculously hard to get at the library because everyone had the same idea I guess, but I managed to snag it. It was hard to get into at first because sexuality is an assumed trait in humans and I'm... not. It was hard to connect to certain motivations. I was able to get over my own dumb brain though and read about 250 pages in one day. At work. Heck yeah. I recommend everyone read it.

Now I'm working on the first book in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, "The Colour of Magic". I shit you not, I've checked this book out about four times and never got around to reading it. I had to turn it in unread each time. I think the first time I made it at least 50 pages in, but I incurred a late fee on it. Please wish me good luck on my reading voyage.

Finally, one of the two jobs I applied to sent me a letter turning me down. It's alright, it's the one I applied to in desperation before the position I really wanted opened up. That one closes tomorrow, when I assume they'll start looking though applications. The info specifically said that they'll only call people they want to interview, but don't call them to check up. So frustrating, my future in New York is depending on this, guys! Anyway, I don't know how long the review process takes but please light a candle or two for me these next couple of weeks.

Yikes, it looks like I had a lot to say? Sorry I've been away for so long. I hope you're all well. <3

[vibranium-coochie]

So the topic of today is how a good majority of the world sees Russians as some brand of subhumans. And there are next to 0 articles, books, songs, movies, posts, etc that doesn't feed into that rhetoric.

Like this kind of sentiment in europe has been since very long, we can start w the Catholic demonization of the Orthodox church, followed by the hun invasion instilling some kind of fear in general european population, followed by the golden army, the western part of europe has always associated east with something bad. And there is levels to that also associated with anti semitism and anti romani sentiment etc. Despite russia being historically also not a safe place for said communities (see pogroms). The point is Europe has had this view that anything "bad" comes from the east for the longest while. And Russia and eastern europe have always been seen as a creeping power/influence trying to corrupt europe. Sound similar? That's because anti Soviet propaganda said the same, Hitler himself said the same, your average newspaper will say the same, Napoleon said the same, it is hard to picture a decade in which the same idea hasnt been repeated by someone.

Of course it peaked during the cold war and the coinciding rise of mass media. Which is still felt to this day and age. You have every second movie before 9/11 with russians or soviets as the villain. After 9/11 there was still a significant prevalence enough to be labeled cliché. The public is not only used to seeing russia as the enemy. But also a defeatable enemy impossible to reason with.

If i ask, most people's thoughts on russia and russians would be: "backwards, weak, poor, dumb, aggressive, close minded, boring, cold, racist, etc.." And theres rarely critical thinking to it not on the basest levels. Every russian is met with derision, condescension and or hostility abroad. I mean every.

I don't think any of you realise that such a global scale of hostility and so casually delivered is one of the main causes of the rise of current russian nationalism. Which i will in no way defend in terms of morality but what did y'all expect would happen. That russians would just agree that the entirety of their culture is a bad thing and they are generally worse people than others?

And then its stupid that you call us militant and aggressive if the only way russia was ever respected as was as a military power. Like of course the country is going to go that road if its the only road presented.

I could go on to the deeper effects of this all in society but it legit breaks my heart. And it just so damn offensive when half of y'all are sharing posts about russian gays in Chechnya. Like you give a shit i will very honestly say i dont think y'all do. That is really just more fuel for you to justify your dislike of a country and of a culture. Because it doesnt even cross your minds that said Chechen gays may not want to choose between their sexual orientation and their cultural identity. And that is all option you give to them. "Have our coins and lend us your voice to more efficiently hate your country"

Anyway. In case you're interested here are some dos and donts.

-Do not compare Russia and Nazi Germany. Do not do that at all, hitler wanted us all dead and enslaved and around 20 million soviets died trying to rid the world of that scum. Thats around one third of all casualties in the war. Its insensitive af to do so.

-Do understand that russia is a multicultural country. Your representation often erase millions of beautiful people and cultures.

-Do read up on anti soviet propaganda. What it looks like and double check your beliefs and views.

-If you're an artist and Russia is one of the inspirations do paint Russia in a good light. There are obvious flaws to it. Many of them but literally we have that rep everywhere. Paint us beautiful and warm and healthy. Thats not something done often.

-Do not sexualize our women and I'm going to extend this to all eastern Europe. Like y'all don't know how fucking serious a problem that is. Your "russian whore" jokes come from a very harsh ugly reality well rooted in sex trafficking.

-Don't overly militarise your view of us? Like legit toxic masculinity becomes an expectation thanks to that. I legit was called a fake russian for not being like that. You do realise our army is less staffed than the USA's. And our budget much smaller? We're not all army people and a good amount of young men are terrified of conscription.

-Do not try to lecture a Russian on Russian politics and Putin. We're not dumb we know our political situation better than the rest of you.

-Do not fear monger. Like legit Russia has no ability to take on NATO and it will simply not do that. Legit fearing us will only serve for y'all to agree with some bullshit bills that are essentially a waste of y'alls tax money at best and at worst just make it less safe.

-Do not think we're dumb. idk why there is such a huge ammount of condescension towards us.

-Making fun of poverty is in poor taste regardless of where its from.

-Don't reinforce alcoholism stereotypes like. Its a problem. If your neighborhood russian doesn't drink good for them? Don't make them go down a road they most likely have some degree of trauma related to.

Anyway I'm at a limit of my processing power.

Feel free to add to this. And i'd rather this not be derailed. With that being said...

Yeah reblog this if you will.